In preparation for the upcoming gathering in Dresden, I want to start some discussion about opportunities for unifying the L4 and EROS kernels. We have made some recent decisions in the EROS project that create a MUCH higher likelihood of success in this discussion. Similarly, the L4 team has been making progress on things that are drawing the two systems closer.
Since this is a public mailing list, and since many of the participants have strong and well-motivated architectural sensibilities, I feel compelled to say: I am *not* interested in establishing which system is "better." I think that both systems have some very strong qualities, and I think that they are closer in spirit than matters at first appear. I also think that each system has weaknesses, and I am interested to figure out whether there may exist a hybrid architecture that combines the advantages of both, and might allow us to bring the two communities together so that we can make more effective progress.
Let me also say at the start that I have *not* been lurking on the l4-hackers list, and that some of the issues I raise may already be "solved", either in the current implementation or in the sense that there is a commonly understood forthcoming design.
To facilitate properly threaded discussions, I'll be dividing my comments into different architectural categories and sending them out under distinct subject lines.
Regards,
shap